Domain
by Sar-kaz-m
Summary: This was HIS domain.   Short story format, occurs sometime between S3.03 and S3.09; 10/25 - now with additional points of view.
1. Chapter 1

_Government Hatchet Man_ wasn't entirely off base, though Cutter's words were meant as an insult. Early on in his career, Sir James Lester decided that the power he really wished to wield was the power behind the scenes. The Ministry, while appealing in its way, had too much public accountability for Lester's tastes. Better to be the man behind the scenes, the one who can weather the ups and downs of public service, because that's where the real power lay. And although some facets of Lester's career certainly resembled hatchet work, not all of it did.

But when these anomalies started occurring – or at least were revealed – Lester found his true calling. Nothing quite like a massive cover-up, coupled with the opportunity to garner knowledge no-one else in the world could, to excite him in a way that few challenges in his long career had. Lester dove into running the government's response to these anomalies with a ferocity that occasionally surprised even himself. He felt not only a fierce need to control and direct the operation, but also a strong sense of possession.

Which of course was why Christine Johnson's operation posed such a threat.

And why he upgraded Becker's orders regarding Helen Cutter to 'shoot on sight'.

And why he allowed Temple – mess and pets and all – to reside in his pied a'terre.

Standing at the rail overlooking the central atrium, he watched Temple fuss with the programming of the A.D.D., being lightly teased and flirted with by Maitland, while Dr. Page, visible through the large windows of all the labs that faced onto the atrium, carefully cleaned the artifact, while Quinn and Becker no doubt were off fussing with some aspect of the facilities security.

This was _his_ domain. This was _his_ place. And like any top predator, he'd defend his territory to the death.

_End_


	2. Chapter 2

_I am your commanding officer now._

He refrained from pointing out that a civilian could not be considered an officer, given he doubted the woman ever spent any time in uniform. She was no more a military officer than Lester, but then, Becker knew very well what sort Lester was, and he rather preferred it.

So he had no problem lying so blatantly and baldly to her face. Conveniently, not one of the people who might have recognized his falsehood was present.

Becker turned on his heel and went to the main security station. He met the questioning gazes of his lieutenants, giving a brief shake of his head. They would not resist the attempted coup…

For now.

For now, Becker chose to take a page out of Lester's handbook, and he quietly obtained a small device from the ops storage. This outrageous and dangerous take over of the ARC wouldn't last very long, if Becker had anything to do with it.

And if he was very lucky, he could neutralize Christine Johnson while he was at it.

After all, his brief was the security of the ARC. Captain Becker took his assignments very seriously.


	3. Chapter 3

_Set somewhere before Stephen's funeral at the end of S2 ep7._

* * *

The problem was, she really did like science fiction, horror, action films, the whole lot.

It was odd, she knew, for such a stylish thing like herself – graduated with honors in marketing and fashion – to enjoy such films, but the unrealistic doggerel of romantic comedies made her roll her eyes, and the dramas usually tried her patience beyond its limits. But as a little girl, fantastical images had drawn her in, and to this day, she'd secretly preferred "Independence Day" over "Valentines Day".

So striking up a conversation with the geeky alterna-boy over the video racks hadn't been a challenge at all.

And yes, she did actually prefer the original 'Night of the Living Dead' over the remake. If you're going to wallow in well known tropes, you might as well wallow in the original source of said tropes.

The hardest part of this job was actually NOT falling for the boy. He was so sweet, in a sort of untried coltish way. Hell, if he was any nicer, she'd think he actually 'played for the other team.' Except he wasn't fashionable enough. And as tempting as it was to drag him to High Street and sort him out, that sort of emotional investment would only backfire when the job was over.

And really, he gave the nicest kisses. Affectionate, without being pushy or dominant. That made it easier to pretend to be 'taking it slow'. It's not that he wasn't cute. It's just … he wasn't exactly the type to entice her. She just generally liked her men well built and well dressed.

His flat-mate was an absolute nightmare, though. Hostile, possessive bitch. And frankly, no-one would believe the lizard was anything other than completely unique. It took quite some time before she hit upon searching paleontology sites – she'd initially thought he'd studied computer sciences. When he let slip he'd actually been a paleontology student, it took her all of five minutes on Google to identify 'Rex'.

They both really ought to be more careful about who they let into their flat.

She surprised herself with her fury over the break up. After all, it was just a job. So, yes, ostensibly, his dumping her meant she was out of a job. But she really didn't have to trash the flat.

Except…

A small part of her kept pointing out that she'd been more herself with Connor than she'd been in a long time. And she really did want to go see 'Serenity' on the big screen this weekend. She'd liked the way he smiled at her, like she was the most amazing woman.

But she knew he'd always kept his best smiles for Abby.

And maybe that was the worst part: that blow to her feminine pride. She'd been sure she could have kept Connor stringing along indefinitely. Surely _Caroline Steele_ – smart, savvy, fashionable – could have kept a geek like Connor on the line for ages. The idea that he'd prefer that boyish punkette over herself…

Okay, maybe breaking a few plates was justifiable.

But then it all turned inside out. Stealing Rex had been a shot at Abby, but then in her anger, she let that slimy scumbag draw her into his plot. And while finally letting loose at that bitch felt good…. The look of betrayal and disdain on Connor's face did hurt. Because yeah, she really did like sci-fi and horror and action films, and for a while there, it had actually been kind of fun.


End file.
